Hopes that the Kremlin could broker a compromise deal on Iran’s nuclear programme faded today as Russian and Iranian negotiators ended two days of talks with few signs of progress. Russia has been trying to persuade Iran to move all its uranium enrichment work to Russian soil to allay Western fears that Tehran is secretly developing a nuclear bomb. Iran says it is interested in the proposal but is refusing to accept the condition that it re-instate the freeze on uranium enrichment on its own territory that it broke last month. The two sides agreed to continue their discussions when Sergei Kiriyenko, Russia’s atomic chief, visits Iran on Thursday. ... http://www.timesonline.co.uk

On the eve of a presidential visit to a renewable energy lab in Colorado, the Department of Energy said it has transferred $5 million to the operation, which had funding cut and employees laid off this month due to budget shortfalls.U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman transferred the money over the weekend to restore jobs at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, according to a department news release."The programs at NREL are critically important to realizing the president's vision to diversify and strengthen our nation's energy mix," Bodman said in the statement. "The action we are taking today will allow the dedicated employees at NREL to continue their work that will bring us great innovation in renewable energy technologies."President Bush visited the lab Tuesday morning. On Monday, Bush touted hybrid cars, nuclear energy, ethanol and solar power during visits to energy research facilities in Michigan and Wisconsin. (Full story)...http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/02/21/bush.energyfunding/index.html?section=cnn_us

The H5N1 strain of bird flu was confirmed in Hungary and Croatia on Tuesday as the deadly virus spread around the globe, while EU officials considered measures to vaccinate millions of birds in France and the Netherlands.In India, where officials are scrambling to contain a major outbreak in poultry, hundreds of people turned up for screening at medical camps in areas where bird flu has been reported.At least 15 nations have reported outbreaks in birds this month, an indication that the virus, which has killed more than 90 people, is spreading faster.Migratory birds are thought to be at least one way the disease is being carried and more than 30 countries have now reported cases since 2003, seven of them recording human infections....http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/conditions/02/21/birdflu.wrap.reut/index.html?section=cnn_world

The US ambassador delivered a blunt warning to Iraqi leaders yesterday that they risk losing American support unless they establish a national unity government with the police & the army out of the hands of religious parties. Zalmay Khalilzad delivered the warning as another 24 persons, including an American soldier, died in a string of bombings, underscoring the need for the country to establish a government capable of winning the trust of all communities & ending the violence. Such a government is also essential to the US strategy for handing over security to Iraqi soldiers & police so that the 138,000 US troops can go home. But talks among Iraqi parties that won parliament seats in the Dec. 15 election have stalled over deep divisions among Shi'ites, Sunni Arabs & Kurds. The only kind of Democracy we will tolerate is one where the people have no say after our Puppets get elected. We can’t have these people actually running their country, we just want them to think they do...http://www.washtimes.com/world/20060221-122950-5007r.htm

Time is running out for 65 Mexican workers who are trapped underground after a blast in a coal mine in the northern state of Coahuila. Using picks, shovels and their hands, rescue teams have got closer to the miners, but they said they still did not know if the men were alive. The workers were carrying limited supplies of oxygen when the blast happened on Sunday. Relatives have camped outside the mine for two days waiting for any news. Officials have said that prospects were slim but there was still a chance of finding survivors. With methane gas still in the mine, the searchers are not using mechanical equipment for fear of new explosions. Rescuers said they were within 200m (yards) of where some miners were working when the explosion occurred at 0230 local time (0830 GMT) on Sunday. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4730846.stm

The Supreme Court stepped into a dispute Tuesday over whether white managers can be sued for calling black employees “boys.”The court unanimously overturned an appeals court decision that said the term “boy” alone was not evidence of workplace discrimination.The decision, one of the first actions with new Justice Samuel Alito, is a loss for Tyson Foods Inc. which was sued by two longtime black employees who claimed they were passed over for promotions by a white manager who called them “boys.”...http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11477009/from/RSS/